What is Midwife?
Midwives are healthcare providers who provide care for pregnancy, childbirth, newborn care, and postpartum health. Some midwives provide routine reproductive care such as pelvic exams, or counseling about birth control.
This professional medical care method tends to be more holistic and supports a natural approach to pregnancy and birth. People often choose its assistance when they want to have a drug-free birth or want to have a home birth.
Differences between Midwives and Obstetricians
Although both play a role during pregnancy and childbirth, both midwives and obstetricians have different duties and responsibilities. Midwives usually work in hospitals, clinics, or private practices.
These medical personnel have duties and responsibilities in providing prenatal care, assisting in normal deliveries, and providing post-natal care.
Obstetricians generally also work in the same scope as midwives, only tend to handle more complex cases and have access to more sophisticated medical facilities.
This gives obstetricians broader skills and authority in performing medical procedures, including caesarean sections and other surgical interventions.
Duties and Roles of Midwives in Hospitals
Some of the health services it can provide include:
1. Providing health services to mothers
Midwives provide several health services when mothers are pregnant, helping with childbirth, planning a healthy pregnancy, and education when breastfeeding. More clearly, here are the health services provided by medical personnel who are usually in this health center to mothers:
- Prenatal appointments and routine pregnancy monitoring.
- Ultrasound and prenatal blood tests.
- Assisting with childbirth and newborn care.
- Postpartum care.
- Education about nutrition, lactation, fertility and other aspects of reproductive health.
- Education about birth control and family planning.
2. Child health services
Midwives provide child health services including the following:
- Providing postnatal services such as cutting the umbilical cord, physical examinations, and immunizations.
- Handling emergency conditions during birth, for example handling hypothermia.
- Providing monitoring of children’s growth and development, such as weighing, height, and stimulating early detection of children’s health.
- Providing counseling to mothers and families regarding baby care, balanced nutrition, and exclusive breastfeeding.
3. Education about family planning
These medical professionals also provide educational and information services regarding the implementation and importance of family planning. The things related to the family planning program that midwives inform families about are:
- Counseling on family reproductive health.
- Information and education regarding contraceptive services.
- Conducting counseling based on government health programs.
4. Providing health services to the community
In their role as medical personnel and educators, midwives also provide health services to the community. For example:
- Immunization of children.
- Monitoring the development of children’s health and growth.
- Conducting health coaching to the community as a whole.
Preparation Before and After Visiting a Midwife
The first visit can be done before reaching 10 weeks of pregnancy. At this time, pregnant women already need tests to check the health of the baby. Here are the preparations that need to be done before and after visiting a midwife:
1. Before visiting the midwife
There are several things you need to prepare when visiting this medical professional, including:
- Prepare a personal health history.
- Personal notes and monitoring of pregnancy conditions.
- Questions to ask.
- Health insurance card.
Midwives usually ask several questions such as:
- Physical and mental health, and any health problems or treatments the pregnant woman may be undergoing.
- Family health history.
- Daily work/activities.
- Support from your partner or other people around you.
2. After visiting the midwife
The midwife will ask about height and weight, calculate body mass index, and measure blood pressure. In addition, she may also suggest that the pregnant woman undergo a blood test. The goal is to check general health including blood type, and to see if the pregnant woman has HIV, syphilis, or hepatitis B.
The midwife will provide useful information to help pregnant women have a healthy pregnancy, including advice on healthy eating and exercise.
In addition, it also discusses options and care during pregnancy, labor and birth. Information from medical professionals can be a provision of knowledge for mothers and fathers to undergo a healthy pregnancy and delivery later.
Things to Consider When Wanting to Give Birth at a Midwife
Giving birth in a hospital with an obstetrician or a midwife can be the choice of each couple. However, if you want to give birth with medical personnel other than this doctor, there are several things that need to be ensured, including:
- Pregnancy without complications
Given that midwives cannot perform cesarean sections, make sure that the pregnancy is healthy and there are no indications of complications. So that normal delivery can be carried out smoothly without any obstacles.
- Make sure you choose a trusted midwife
Choosing a trusted medical professional also needs to be taken into consideration, because a midwife who has good accreditation will help the delivery run smoothly without any problems.
- The mother does not have any congenital diseases
Sometimes certain conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease experienced by pregnant women can be obstacles during labor. That is why pregnant women with congenital diseases generally require treatment by an obstetrician.
- Health facilities owned by midwives
Whether the midwife has adequate medical health facilities is also important for mothers and fathers to consider. Why is that? Because, this can be a preparation if the delivery experiences complications, these medical personnel have special preparations to provide appropriate treatment.
- Practice Location
The proximity of the practice to your home is also something to consider. Make sure the practice is easily accessible, especially if you want regular prenatal care.